


As Long As It Takes

by Pokeharvest



Series: One Piece One Shots/Drabbles [5]
Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Pining, reader is a straw hat pirate, reader was childhood friends with ace and luffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:28:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27254968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pokeharvest/pseuds/Pokeharvest
Summary: Ace left without saying a word. You eventually got over him, or at least, you thought you did, until you meet again. Set in Alabasta.
Relationships: Portgas D. Ace/Reader
Series: One Piece One Shots/Drabbles [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1989934
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	As Long As It Takes

"Hey, (Y/N)!" the young teen shouted, catching up to you as you walked down the street. "Let's play a game!" You looked sideways at him, a grin forming on your face.

"Sure, Luffy! What kind of game?" Before Luffy could say anything, you cut him off. "And please, not the 'Gum Gum Slingshot' again. Ace got lost last time that happened."

"No, it's not that game. Besides, Ace isn't here."

"Isn't here?" You turned to face the boy fully now, interest fully piqued. "What, did he go off to train again?"

"No, he left to become a pirate. Don't you remember?" Your jaw dropped.

" **WHAT?! TODAY?!** "

"Yeah, didn't he say goodbye?" Luffy tilted his head to the side and crossed his arms. Your face fell, voice losing all intensity.

"...No. He didn't."

"Oh. Well, we'll see him again. I'm sure of it!" Luffy smiled, looking off into the horizon. You lifted your head too, looking at the glowing sunset. Somehow, it felt different without him. Wiping the tears from your eyes, a determined yet sad expression filled your face. If he could leave without saying goodbye, you could forget your feelings for him.

———————————————————

As the years flew by, both you and Luffy worked hard to make your dream of becoming pirates a reality. Eventually, you got yourselves trapped in barrels and started your journey. Along the way, you met Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Vivi, and Chopper. With every new member, the ship felt more and more alive.

"Alright," Nami began. "Where can that moron be now?"

"Just look for wherever a commotion or a restaurant is, and you'll find Luffy," you huffed.

"Or both," Zoro said, pointing down the street. A restaurant was far in the distance, but a gang of people began to flood the streets coming towards you. A single boy led the pack, it looked like. As the mob grew closer, you saw the boy was Luffy and he was actually getting chased. By Marines. And he was leading them to your position.

"Hey guys! So that's where you've been..."

" **DON'T LEAD THEM TOWARDS US, IDIOT!** " You all shouted, but it was too late. The crew joined Luffy in the escape from Nanohana, and began to near the ship. Suddenly, smoke began to fill the air.

"God damn it, what now?!" You furiously yelled, looking at Luffy. Luffy was about to be surrounded by the smoke, but then a figure jumped in.

"Is that..." you began.

"Ace?!" Luffy joyously grinned.

"Just go, I'll buy you guys some time," Ace said, facing Smoker.

———————————————————

"You're kidding. We got separated AGAIN?!" Nami cried. She scoured the coast for any signs of Luffy. You sighed, deep in thought. Why was Ace here in Alabasta? Why did he have a Whitebeard tattoo? Does he even remember you?

"Um...(Y/N)? Are you alright?" A small voice piped up. Looking up, you saw Chopper stare worriedly at you. Feigning a smile, you responded,

"Yeah. I'm good. Just worried about Luffy, that's all." Nami then spoke up, handing you the binoculars.

"Speaking of Luffy, I found him. Looks like he'll be coming here the hard way." Curiously looking through them, you saw Luffy stretching his arms out towards the Going Merry. Hurriedly, you said,

"Sanji? You might want to watch ou-" but it was too late. Luffy had already collided, but at least he was safely on board. After brushing himself off, Luffy turned to you.

"Hey (Y/N), did you know Ace had devil fruit powers?" Luffy asked.

"Luffy, I just saw him for the first time in years today."

"Yeah, and?"

"That's a no." The crew began to bombard the two of you with questions about the mysterious older brother Luffy had.

"Yeah, he's really strong. But I'll bet I can beat his butt now." Seeing Ace rise above the edge of the deck behind Luffy, your eyes widened.

"Who's kicking who's butt?" Ace said before hitting Luffy upside the head and landing on deck.

"Ace!" Luffy cried.

"Hope my younger brother hasn't been too much trouble for you all."

"Oh, no, not at all," the crew replied in unison, bowing. All of the crew except you, that is.

"You kidding?" You began. "He's caused nothing _but_ trouble." Ace's eyes widened once he saw you.

"(Y/N)! It's been so long!" He ran up and hugged you, catching you by surprise. You were shocked at first, but slowly returned the hug, the hug that should have taken place years ago.

———————————————————

You sat next to Ace while he watched his younger brother drink with Chopper and Usopp.

"Are they normally like this?" He whispered.

"Yeah, they'll drink to just about anything," you smiled fondly, remembering all the wild parties they'd throw. Ace shook his head and laughed a little. After you glanced over to him in curiosity, he said,

"Luffy sure has grown up a lot. He's still the same, but he's grown."

"He's still as dumb as ever, though." Your comment elicited another baritone chuckle from Ace, making you blush a bit. Dammit, it's been years, you were over him! Or at least you thought you were.

"I'll drink to that," Ace said, holding his mug towards you. You clinked your mug against his and took a sip. After a bit of silence, Ace spoke again.

"You have too, you know."

"Remained just as dumb as before? Thanks, Ace, just what every girl wants to hear," you joked, smirking at him.

"No no no, not that." Ace dismissively waved his hand in your direction. "You've grown up too." Another blush spread on your face, which you attempted to cover by taking another sip from your mug. After regaining your composure, you asked him how so. "Well, you were a lot feistier back then. Seems you've calmed down. Matured a little." You scoffed.

"No, I just learned to accept that Luffy will be Luffy. When he does something _really_ stupid though, _boy_ does he get an earful from me." You turned to glance at Ace, and caught him staring. "What?" He slowly reached out and took a lock of your hair in his hand.

"You grew your hair out." Another blush formed on your face.

"G-got a problem?" Ace retracted his hand and smiled at your sudden sheepishness.

"No. I like it." For the rest of the night, all you could think about was his compliment.

———————————————————

The next day, you sat on the deck of the Going Merry, watching the waves go by. Ace walked up and plopped himself down next to you, shoulder to shoulder.

"Hey, I have a question," you said, keeping your gaze on the open waters.

"Yeah?"

"Do you literally ever wear a shirt?" Ace laughed at this, and you turned your head to look at him.

"Nope," he finally responded, grin spread across his face. You shoved him lightly with your shoulder and he shoved back. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I really missed these times," Ace said, looking off in the distance. He took your silence as a sign to go on. "Those days when it was just us, going in the markets, sitting on the beach, no pesky younger brothers around." A gentle laugh escaped your lips as you reminisced with Ace. Your lips formed a thin line as you debated on asking Ace the question you'd been wanting to ask him for years. Ace noticed your suddenly solemn face. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I have another question."

"Well aren't you curious today? Go ahead."

"Why did you never say goodbye?" Ace let out a wistful sigh.

"Well," he began, "I didn't want to." Your eyes had started to water at his words. "No no no! Not like that!" Ace rambled as he wiped the tears falling from your eyes, cupping your face in his hands. "I just—If I had said goodbye, I would have said something else really stupid."

"W-Well, what would you have said?"

"That I loved you." Your mouth opened slightly with shock. Instinctively, you tenderly covered one of Ace's hands with your own. "And that I wanted you to wait for me until I came back."

"And why would that have been stupid?"

"Because you were in love with Luffy." Slowly, a murderous smile spread across your face as your grip on Ace's hand turned lethal. " _Ow!_ Hey wha-"

" **YOU THOUGHT I WAS IN LOVE WITH _HIM?!_** " You yelled, pointing to Luffy, who was currently trying to touch his brain by picking his nose and stretching his finger.

" _LET GO OF MY HAND!_ " Ace cried, desperately trying to claw your fingers away and prevent you from breaking all the bones in his hand. Dramatically, you released his hand and settled on crossing your arms tightly. Ace held his limp hand by the wrist, trying to nurse it back to life.

"You're such an idiot, you know?" You tutted. "Couldn't tell if a girl liked you even if she spent her whole life with you." Ace's eyes flitted to yours as your confession left your lips. Your eyes were fixated on the wooden floorboards of the Going Merry as you remembered the days after Ace's departure from the island. "The fact that you didn't say goodbye really hurt me. I wanted to forget you. I thought I had, too, until you showed up again. It's been so long."

"Well, I guess I was wrong about some things today. The first one being that you never liked him," Ace said, pointing to Luffy who was now yelling about his finger being stuck in his nose. "The second being that you calmed down. You're still as feisty as ever."

"Damn right."

———————————————————

Between the sand pirates, phony rebel soldiers, and Scorpion, you never had a chance to speak to Ace about your confession. As he stood with his back to the sun, about to depart, you felt a deep sorrow fill your heart. He was leaving so soon? Just as you had reunited?

"Well, I guess this is it," Ace announced.

"You sure you can't stay with us?" Luffy whined.

"As much as I would like to stick around longer, I can't. Blackbeard isn't in Alabasta, so I'll have to take off now." Ace threw a scrap of paper at Luffy. "This will help you find me." You ran up to Ace, tears threatening to fall. Nevertheless, you tried to keep up a cool composure.

"You're not gonna leave again without saying goodbye, are you?"

"No, but I will do something I should have done long ago," he said softly, gently wiping your tears as he had just a few days ago.

"Which is?"

"This." He dipped his head down to meet yours, lips capturing yours in a loving kiss. You kissed back tenderly, one arm slowly wrapping around his neck, the other around his chest. As he pulled back, he smiled sadly.

"I have no right to ask you this, considering I couldn't even muster the courage to say goodbye," he said. "but will you wait for me? I've loved you for years, and part of why I wanted to become a pirate was to become someone you could be proud to love back." A smile blossomed on your face upon hearing him say the words you'd only dreamed of him saying.

"I'll wait for you. For as long as it takes." Ace kissed you once more, lips lingering on yours as if he would never see you again. After the kiss, Ace put his forehead to yours, savoring the moment for as long as he could before reluctantly pulling away.

"You might want to let go now, I don't want to hurt you," Ace said, referring to your arms still embracing him. Retracting your arms, a curious look grew on your face as you tried to figure out what he was going to do next. He grinned.

"Until next time?"

"Until next time, Ace." He gradually turned into a bright flame, and hovered in front of you before escaping into the sunset, blending into the deep yellows and oranges bleeding across the sky.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as I was watching the Alabasta arc so I obvs didn't know about Ace's backstory...hopefully it doesn't conflict too much with anything canon lol.  
> I kinda like how this one turned out tho! Ace being an idiot is always good


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